Seasons

I am so thankful for seasons.  When I was growing up in the Midwest of the U.S, I always enjoyed the change of four distinct seasons.  Whether it was the warm spring days that chased away the winter snow or the maple leaves turning to sunset hues that signaled the return of fall, I delighted in the regular rhythms of nature.

Beyond the natural seasons, we also experience what we call “seasons of life.”  I have just come from a season of travel. For almost a month, I was away from home.  My youngest daughter and I drove across the U.S. to return her to college; I visited family in Ohio and friends in Canada; and my husband and I attended a conference in Northern California.  

All of these travels were wonderful, but now I am very thankful for a season of staying at home!  I am getting back to my regular routines and rhythms – and trying out some new ones.  I am reunited with my at-home-family, and we are eagerly awaiting the arrival of my next grandchild.  This is a good season.

All of us cycle through different seasons of life – some good, some difficult.  As the writer of Ecclesiastes reminds us, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:  a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, [etc] …” (Ecc 3:1-2).  We all know this.  Each of us has lived through a variety of times and experiences over the course of our life.  

Just as natural seasons have distinct qualities and activities, so do our life seasons.  Again, turning to Ecclesiastes, we are told that there are seasons to tear down or to build, to weep or to laugh, to mourn or to dance (Ecc 3:3-4).  The challenge we sometimes find, however, is understanding and partnering with the season of life we are in.  If we fail to do this, or if we try to fight our current season, we may end up like the person who stubbornly wears a winter coat on a summer’s day at the beach or who tries to fly a kite in a snowstorm.

When I was traveling, I knew I had to put my writing on hold for those weeks.  It wasn’t possible for me to find the time and space – or even the headspace – to keep up my regular writing hours.  Instead of fighting my season, I chose to have grace for myself and for the season I was in, and I gave myself entirely to enjoying my travels and my relationships with the people I was with. 

Although at times we struggle to understand, God allows us to go through different seasons in our life, and He makes use of them to accomplish His purposes for us.  Each season is a distinct experience that brings its own lessons and opportunities. There are seasons of poverty and of prosperity, seasons of struggle and blessing, grief and rejoicing, toil and rest.  Of course, some seasons are far easier than others, and some we wish we could avoid altogether – like the so-called “Snowbirds” who escape the northern winter months each year by traveling to warmer climates – but each season has its purpose and shapes us in its unique way.  

Each season also provides its own “fruit.”  Even a winter season can offer the fruit of rest and renewal.  I once heard singer Ben Rector advise to eat the fruit that is in season.  This is real wisdom because what is true in the natural is also true in the fabric of our lives.  When we decide to eat a fruit that is not in season, it will be more costly than its normal price; it never tastes as good as it does in its proper season; and it doesn’t nourish us as well as it does at its appointed time.  

I believe we face these same consequences when we don’t align with our current season but try to eat the “fruit” of a different season.  Perhaps we haven’t allowed ourselves space to process in a time of grief or we refused to lay down responsibilities when God called us to a season of rest. Maybe we carried the hurt of a past season into a new season that was meant for rejoicing.  Getting “out of season” and eating the fruit of another season can be costly; it won’t give us the strength we need for our current season; and ultimately it may leave us with a bad taste in our mouth.  In reality, it will be “unfruitful!”

So, I encourage you today, Dear One, to take a few moments to think about what season of life you are currently in.  It might help to think of it as a natural season:  Spring (a season of new growth and fresh ideas), Summer (a season of blossoming growth and ease), Fall (a season of harvest and completing tasks), or Winter (a season of dormancy and quiet).  Or you can label it: a season of hard work, a season of blind faith, a season of joy … .  

What lessons are you learning or what fruit comes with your season?  This might look like gratefulness, God’s faithfulness, perseverance, new friends, fresh opportunities, deeper trust, quiet peace, etc.  Then consider, is there anything you need to change to live in closer alignment and more peacefully with your current season?

A Prayer:

Dearest God, the Author of Time and the Creator of Seasons, thank You for Your loving care.  Thank You that nothing in my life is beyond Your notice, and that You are constantly at work in my life.  I ask You to make good use of this season I am in. Help me to live through it with all the grace, strength, and wisdom that I need.  Help me to discover the fruit in it and to be nourished by it.  And most of all, help me to see that You are here with me, in every moment of every season of my life.

In Jesus’s Name, Amen.